Team C in possession. Eita Otoya kicks off from center!
Right after the kickoff, Otoya passes the ball to Tabito Karasu, then slips out of everyone’s field of view using his unpredictable off-ball movement.
The moment Karasu receives the ball, he changes his forward path, trying to steer Team C’s attack as far away from Ryūma as possible.
Unfortunately, every bit of that intention is laid bare inside the Slow-Motion World.
(Same old pattern—Karasu shielding the ball, Yukimiya attacking up front, and Otoya lurking for a hidden chance.)
(A decent formation… too bad you’re facing me~)
With that thought, Ryūma unleashed his full speed and sprinted straight toward Karasu.
Karasu knew very well—if Ryūma got close, forget shielding the ball, he might not even manage a pass.
(What do I do? Yukimiya’s still being marked tightly by Rin…)
(Otoya’s unpredictable movement keeps everyone from predicting his run, but that also slows down his forward push…)
(Huh? That redhead?!)
Out of the corner of his eye, Karasu suddenly spotted Hyōma Chigiri sprinting straight down the left.
Pinned by Seishiro Nagi’s marking, Chigiri stared firmly at Karasu and thought:
(Push forward!! Accelerate!! Look at me, Karasu—)
(You’re not going to use these jet legs of mine?!)
The next moment, Chigiri burst forward, shaking off Nagi’s arm that blocked him.
Seeing this, Karasu stopped hesitating. He adjusted his movements and fired a pass in Chigiri’s direction.
“I’m giving you your chance!!”
Chigiri caught the ball and accelerated, eyes locked on the front of the goal.
“Don’t even think about getting through, Redhead!”
Rin Itoshi cut him off, but Chigiri’s gaze remained fixed ahead—more precisely, on the lightning-fast Eita Otoya sprinting into the box.
(Perfect timing on that run!)
(Nicely done, ninja boy!)
(Now!! Just need this pass—!)
Chigiri struck immediately, sending a sharp through ball toward the goalmouth.
(That speed… gives me chills!)
Just as Otoya leapt for a header, a shadow soared past him—leaping even higher—and trapped the ball with his chest.
Otoya stared in disbelief at Ryūma as he descended.
(Impossible… he read my movement?)
(I timed my run nearly perfectly with Chigiri’s pass—how did he notice?)
(Wasn’t his field vision supposed to be his weakness?!)
Ryūma gave him no time to think.
The instant he landed, Ryūma shut off Slow-Motion World. A heartbeat later, Limit-Breaking State activated.
“This perfectly open straight line? My favorite!”
Otoya had barely moved to intercept before Ryūma shot past him like a cheetah at full throttle.
Karasu, running in from the side, immediately sensed danger.
“Fall back! Hurry! Foul him if you have to—just stop him!”
Aoshi Tokimitsu sprinted straight into Ryūma’s path. Just as he was about to collide, a cold voice reached his ears—
In the next instant, Ryūma lunged forward in a diving stride, slipping past Tokimitsu’s full-force block effortlessly.
Fortunately, both Kenyu Yukimiya and Chigiri reacted quickly—their speed wasn’t slow.
Because Yukimiya had been farther from Team A’s goal, he immediately turned and sprinted toward Ryūma’s path. He was nearly upon him.
Yet Ryūma didn’t slow down in the slightest.
“Stopping me head-on? Too naive, Mr. Male Model!”
As he said it, Ryūma suddenly lofted the ball high toward Team C’s penalty area.
Yukimiya froze. He couldn’t understand why Ryūma would dare to shoot from such a position.
Even he wouldn’t attempt a shot from there.
(He knows he can’t get past me, so he forces a shot? No… that doesn’t add up—)
Before he could finish processing, Ryūma vanished from his field of view.
Yukimiya whipped his head toward the goal.
(What?! That wasn’t a shot—it was a pass to himself a few seconds ahead!)
(And his acceleration… his dribbling… he looks just like “Godspeed” Loki!)
Chigiri was even more stunned. He remembered being only slightly slower than Ryūma before—not by much.
But now, Ryūma’s monstrous speed made him doubt himself all over again.
The first time had been against “Godspeed” Loki. And now—Ryūma’s pressure felt no different from Loki’s overwhelming presence. Orıginal content can be found at n͟o͟v͟e͟l͟f͟i͟r͟e͟.net
(It’s over… we can’t stop him!)
While Yukimiya and Chigiri were frozen in disbelief, Ryūma had already closed in on the ball.
He planted his left foot hard, launched himself upward with explosive force, and leaned forward slightly.
Channeling all his power into his right leg, he struck—
—smashing the ball at full power in a Blitz Shot toward Team C’s goal.
Team C’s keeper stood rooted in place, completely unable to react as the ball rocketed past him.
GOAL!! Team A 2:1 Team C
The sheer force of the shot left the entire field in stunned silence.
Ryūma straightened up slowly. After waiting in vain for any reaction, he muttered internally:
(Hello? Anyone gonna react?)
(Standing here alone is awkward as hell T﹏T)
(Man… times , I really miss Hiori.)
When he turned around, he was startled—there wasn’t a single player nearby. Team C had already walked back to their positions.
They had zero intention of responding to him.
Ryūma scratched his head awkwardly and jogged back toward his side.
But what he didn’t know was that Team C wasn’t ignoring him on purpose—they were all deep in thought, desperately trying to figure out how to avoid Ryūma’s attacks.
Once Ryūma returned to his side, only Seishiro Nagi offered him a lazy fist bump.
“Yeah, yeah. Afraid I can’t tell how half-hearted that was?” Ryūma sighed, then looked toward Rin Itoshi in the distance.
“Hey, Rin! Nothing to say?”